[OOC] 🎀 𝓟𝓻𝓸𝓹𝓮𝓻 . 𝓨𝓸𝓾𝓷𝓰 . 𝓚𝓲𝓵𝓵𝓲𝓷𝓰 . 𝓜𝓪𝓬𝓱𝓲𝓷𝓮𝓼 . (a steampunk RP of petticoats, poison, and propriety)

[ayzrules]

This one still accepting?

@Yorutenchi

Yes!!!

(will get back to other posts in a bit, I just woke up and family wants to go out to eat)

[bloonewb]

@DracarysBitch

A "baron" (or more derisively, a "robber baron") is also a colloquial term for a businessman who has such a powerful stranglehold on his field of industry that he has managed to create an effective monopoly or trust. Famous examples of such include Rockefeller, Carnegie, and Vanderbilt. Often, the barons are portrayed as having a large hand in government as well, buying off political leaders to further their profit and investing heavily on public infrastructure. I believe that was the idea the GMs were going for in the Triarchy.

[Darth Shadow]

Wake up to 41 posts, what did I miss?

[ayzrules]

@MorningStar1399 alexander looks good, feel free to move him over to CS tab :)

[ayzrules]

@Stern Algorithm Yay! So glad he's up. I've nothing to say besides what @shylarah has already covered

@DracarysBitch yooo!

For the titles what Shy said is correct-I just want something a bit simpler and "lady whatever"/"lord whatever" has sort of a nice ring to it, lmao. The Triarchy Barons and Baronesses are something totally different, and it's not so much a noble title than a title given to the people who rule the cities (like "Minister" in HG)

[DracarysBitch]

@DracarysBitch

A "baron" (or more derisively, a "robber baron") is also a colloquial term for a businessman who has such a powerful stranglehold on his field of industry that he has managed to create an effective monopoly or trust. Famous examples of such include Rockefeller, Carnegie, and Vanderbilt. Often, the barons are portrayed as having a large hand in government as well, buying off political leaders to further their profit and investing heavily on public infrastructure. I believe that was the idea the GMs were going for in the Triarchy.

@bloonewb

Thanks for explaining! XD Although, not to be a nobility-obsessed loser here (100% what I am though), but those aren't barons, they're Americans, a nation which very memorably abolished aristocracy, that system is actually more similar to the oligarch system, currently most easily seen in the Russian Federation. I'm actually rather ignorant of those American wealthy families (because I'm biased af), but as far as I understand, whilst they have tremendous wealth and influence, they don't have formal titles, which is what I was thinking of. I based my earlier stuff only on the british systems, since the victorian era is specifically mentioned, the types of barons differed from kingdom to kingdom in europe, they overlapped, but had distinct differences, for example in Germany, Barons were formerly Knightly families, later made barons when they changed their system a bit. In GB and Ireland, Baron/Baroness is the lowest rank of nobility (there are 4 other ranks in general below Baron; Baronet, Knight, Esquire, Gentlemen, and their immediate equivalents, but these ranks are not used by the British). The thousand year history (more or less) since the creation of the title (in the isles) has changed up it's purpose over time, but essentially, they were people who held lands given to them directly by the king. They were loyal vassals being rewarded by their immediate overlord. Like House Stark awarding House Bolton (theoretically, not actually, because fuck the boltons, but for comparison, that's effectively their power difference). Powerful nobles like (non-royal)-Dukes and Earls also went onto to award the title of baron to some of their vassals whom they had given land to. Due to the large number of them, and their sworn duty to serve their king/overlord, they ended up forming what eventually would become parliament and later the house of lords. As of 1660, being a baron is no longer tied to owning land due to the Tenures Abolition Act of 1660. In parliament they could speak and vote, but that was the extent of their power, and more or less, is the same today.

Historically, Barons had little power in government, they were just easy votes to buy and/or coerce. The Dukes were the most powerful of the nobility, particularly because many claiming descent from royalty. My working theory is mostly that the triarchy is run more like England during the civil war, or a bit like the goals of the Fronde in France, just titled Barons 'cause it sounds cooler and more steampunk-y than Duke.

(also, because we've never met before, that's not said in any mean spirited way at all! I just love Europe! And I'm really sorry if my nerdy tone came out mean instead! :/)

[DracarysBitch]

@DracarysBitch yooo!

For the titles what Shy said is correct-I just want something a bit simpler and "lady whatever"/"lord whatever" has sort of a nice ring to it, lmao. The Triarchy Barons and Baronesses are something totally different, and it's not so much a noble title than a title given to the people who rule the cities (like "Minister" in HG)
[/quote]

okie dokie, so then the title is just their family name? Like Robert Crawley, Earl of Grantham, would be Lord Crawley instead of Lord Grantham?

[ayzrules]

@DracarysBitch yep!

[DracarysBitch]

@ayzrules ( ´ ▽ ` )b

[shylarah]

@DracarysBitch I like you.

[DracarysBitch]

@shylarah thank you (/ω＼)

[Stern Algorithm]

@Stern Algorithm Very interesting. You will need to discuss with @Ayzrules the specifics of which type of magic can be used to create what. My understanding was automatons could not be made with lustraya, but I wouldn't be adverse to it. Love the touch of the names! You might want to note that 8 is literal age, and put an appearance-age in parenthesis, though I note you mentioned it elsewhere. If he is eight/a young teen, my guess is that he is not yet a member of a guild, though he may have intentions to join one or close ties by way of his family.

A note on his gift: do you mean magnetic (only magnetic metals) or did you intend it to be any metal?

My other questions deal with whether his nature is readily apparent or not, and how much looking is required to determine it. Additionally, would something or someone able to control machinery be able to control his body against his wishes? What about something that influenced the magical mixture that powers him and his life?

Ayz will want to comment, I'm sure, but I love the char.

@shylarah

OK, I will address your points in an itemized list:

1. Magic: I initially PM'd the character idea to @ayzrules, and this is what we ultimately arrived at. However, the possibility exists that I misread something. Ayz, please confirm.

2. Age: I will mention that 8 is his actual age since inception and that his physical/apparent age is around 12-13. Since being created, he went through about three years or so of rapid learning as well as red tape with his father, at which point he was about as mature as a 14 year-old should be and was enrolled in the Polytechnique Institute for the next four years of his life, making him a fairly recent graduate. I'll make it so he hasn't yet officially joined a guild, though he has plans to follow in his father's footsteps.

3. Magnetic Gift: So I'm a bit of a scientist IRL, and the answer to this question depends on how science-y or magic-y the world is. If we're willing to 'handwave' away hard science, then it would just be all metals. If we wanted to be a bit more scientific about it, then iron, nickel, cobalt (and some rare-earth metals) are 'magnetic', with other metals being 'paramagnetic'. Magnetic metals are attracted to a magnetic field, allowing them to be pulled, even if the metal object is not in motion relative to the magnet. Paramagnetic metals only form magnetic fields when in motion relative to a nearby metal, and results in repulsion, allowing them to be pushed. What this means essentially is that Arsenio can attract magnetic metal objects, and push paramagnetic metal objects, but only if said paramagnetic metal objects are in motion near or around him. I could say that his limbs and accessories are built with a unique combination of magnetic and paramagnetic metals allowing him the ability to finely control and levitate them, but for all other objects, its just pull (for magnetics) and push/deflect (for paramagnetics in motion).

4. Cute as a Doll: Initially, I was thinking that his face and hands were covered in a synthetic, rubbery texture so that his face joints and finger joints were not readily visible, but that the rest of his joints on his body would have to be covered up with clothes. Anyone who touched him and felt the coldness, hardness, or presence of ball joints would know immediately. But it does make the ability to seduce extremely difficult, because seduction requires drawing attention to oneself, and realistically speaking, that level of scrutiny would probably give him away. No matter how 'thirsty' someone is for a young piece of ass enamored someone might be with Arsenio, realization that he's a doll should ring a million alarm bells. Sentient dolls just aren't common enough for one to walk up to you, accept your advances, and be willing to have a steamy rendezvous without there being something seriously wrong with the situation. Unless there really are people stupid enough that they would let the needs of their nethers override their logical reasoning and survival instinct. Maybe this is a bit of meta-balancing. Some might argue that its OP to have a character to have attended both schools, so as it turns out, the few classes that Arsenio took an interest in at Madame Geraldine's are realistically unapplicable due to his nature. It might make more sense for his infiltration tactics to involve going by unnoticed, so dressed as an urchin or a serving boy/girl so no one pays him any attention. I don't know if this answers your question or not, but TL;DR I'm flexible and am willing to give up one of his skills for the sake of believability.

5. Machine weakness: I think that being controlled by those who can control machinery is an inherent weakness that I'm willing to RP with. On the other hand, one could argue that Arsenio is immune to telepathy, not having a biological, organic brain to begin with. So there's gives and takes. Maybe after it happens for the first time, Arsenio will try to seek out some sort of countermeasure, but we'll cross that bridge when we get to it.

6. Magical weakness: Same as above, as long as the first time he encounters something like that is not immediately and instantly lethal to him, giving him a chance to realize his weakness, and either learn to overcome it, or learn to avoid it.

A. Sorry, not one of your points: I want to know if radio exists in this world. I intend for Arsenio's head, torso, and hips to be able to separate from each other, but since his 'soul' resides only in his head, there needs to be a way for him to 'remotely' control the electromagnetic cores in his torso and hips. If radio does not exist, then it's fine if these parts do not separate.

B. Sorry, another of my points: As a scientist, I believe in the conservation of energy. As such, Arsenio needs energy to continue to 'live'. I was thinking he has a mechano-electric motor in his torso, something that converts kinetic into potential energy that is slowly converted into electrical energy, which is used for movement, and excess is stored in batteries in the head, torso and hips. In other words, he has a windup key that goes into his back that winds up a spring, connected to a flywheel, connected to a turbine/generator. He typically gets close friends to 'feed' him by winding his key for him, but in a pinch, he can hook up to anything that provides rotational energy. I was thinking that fully wound, the spring/flywheel combo lasts for a day, after which, his fully-charged batteries will last 5-7 days (similar to the amount of time it takes for someone with access to water to starve to death).

Okay, that's it, sorry for the super-long post. Hope we can get this character hammered out.

[ayzrules]

<Snipped quote by shylarah>

OK, I will address your points in an itemized list:

1. Magic: I initially PM'd the character idea to @ayzrules, and this is what we ultimately arrived at. However, the possibility exists that I misread something. Ayz, please confirm.

2. Age: I will mention that 8 is his actual age since inception and that his physical/apparent age is around 12-13. Since being created, he went through about three years or so of rapid learning as well as red tape with his father, at which point he was about as mature as a 14 year-old should be and was enrolled in the Polytechnique Institute for the next four years of his life, making him a fairly recent graduate. I'll make it so he hasn't yet officially joined a guild, though he has plans to follow in his father's footsteps.

3. Magnetic Gift: So I'm a bit of a scientist IRL, and the answer to this question depends on how science-y or magic-y the world is. If we're willing to 'handwave' away hard science, then it would just be all metals. If we wanted to be a bit more scientific about it, then iron, nickel, cobalt (and some rare-earth metals) are 'magnetic', with other metals being 'paramagnetic'. Magnetic metals are attracted to a magnetic field, allowing them to be pulled, even if the metal object is not in motion relative to the magnet. Paramagnetic metals only form magnetic fields when in motion relative to a nearby metal, and results in repulsion, allowing them to be pushed. What this means essentially is that Arsenio can attract magnetic metal objects, and push paramagnetic metal objects, but only if said paramagnetic metal objects are in motion near or around him. I could say that his limbs and accessories are built with a unique combination of magnetic and paramagnetic metals allowing him the ability to finely control and levitate them, but for all other objects, its just pull (for magnetics) and push/deflect (for paramagnetics in motion).

4. Cute as a Doll: Initially, I was thinking that his face and hands were covered in a synthetic, rubbery texture so that his face joints and finger joints were not readily visible, but that the rest of his joints on his body would have to be covered up with clothes. Anyone who touched him and felt the coldness, hardness, or presence of ball joints would know immediately. But it does make the ability to seduce extremely difficult, because seduction requires drawing attention to oneself, and realistically speaking, that level of scrutiny would probably give him away. No matter how 'thirsty' someone is for a young piece of ass enamored someone might be with Arsenio, realization that he's a doll should ring a million alarm bells. Sentient dolls just aren't common enough for one to walk up to you, accept your advances, and be willing to have a steamy rendezvous without there being something seriously wrong with the situation. Unless there really are people stupid enough that they would let the needs of their nethers override their logical reasoning and survival instinct. Maybe this is a bit of meta-balancing. Some might argue that its OP to have a character to have attended both schools, so as it turns out, the few classes that Arsenio took an interest in at Madame Geraldine's are realistically unapplicable due to his nature. It might make more sense for his infiltration tactics to involve going by unnoticed, so dressed as an urchin or a serving boy/girl so no one pays him any attention. I don't know if this answers your question or not, but TL;DR I'm flexible and am willing to give up one of his skills for the sake of believability.

5. Machine weakness: I think that being controlled by those who can control machinery is an inherent weakness that I'm willing to RP with. On the other hand, one could argue that Arsenio is immune to telepathy, not having a biological, organic brain to begin with. So there's gives and takes. Maybe after it happens for the first time, Arsenio will try to seek out some sort of countermeasure, but we'll cross that bridge when we get to it.

6. Magical weakness: Same as above, as long as the first time he encounters something like that is not immediately and instantly lethal to him, giving him a chance to realize his weakness, and either learn to overcome it, or learn to avoid it.

A. Sorry, not one of your points: I want to know if radio exists in this world. I intend for Arsenio's head, torso, and hips to be able to separate from each other, but since his 'soul' resides only in his head, there needs to be a way for him to 'remotely' control the electromagnetic cores in his torso and hips. If radio does not exist, then it's fine if these parts do not separate.

B. Sorry, another of my points: As a scientist, I believe in the conservation of energy. As such, Arsenio needs energy to continue to 'live'. I was thinking he has a mechano-electric motor in his torso, something that converts kinetic into potential energy that is slowly converted into electrical energy, which is used for movement, and excess is stored in batteries in the head, torso and hips. In other words, he has a windup key that goes into his back that winds up a spring, connected to a flywheel, connected to a turbine/generator. He typically gets close friends to 'feed' him by winding his key for him, but in a pinch, he can hook up to anything that provides rotational energy. I was thinking that fully wound, the spring/flywheel combo lasts for a day, after which, his fully-charged batteries will last 5-7 days (similar to the amount of time it takes for someone with access to water to starve to death).

Okay, that's it, sorry for the super-long post. Hope we can get this character hammered out.

@Stern Algorithm

1. what you have is correct!
2 & 3 look good to me-we are both fine with whichever form of magnetic gift that you deem appropriate for him
4. Honestly I'm cool with whichever route you decide to take him in, in terms of appearance-in my mind, it's more plausible for the urchin/serving boy/girl thing you mentioned to, well, work, but whatever floats your boat!
5 & 6 sound good to me! The immunity definitely makes sense

No problem with attending both schools! And radio does not exist, no

I like your idea about the energy! It makes sense to me; the initial lustrya transfer wouldn't be able to animate/power/whatever him forever, anyway, because son dude was dying.

Once you add the points/edits to sheet, feel free to move it over to CS tab!

(@shylarah LMK if I missed anything)

[shylarah]

@Stern Algorithm@ayzrules my last question is how open he is aobut his origins, but other than that everything's good for me~

Also Alyssana teaches at Polytech, so it's entirely possible Arsenio has her for a class.

[Stern Algorithm]

<Snipped quote by Stern Algorithm>

1. what you have is correct!
2 & 3 look good to me-we are both fine with whichever form of magnetic gift that you deem appropriate for him
4. Honestly I'm cool with whichever route you decide to take him in, in terms of appearance-in my mind, it's more plausible for the urchin/serving boy/girl thing you mentioned to, well, work, but whatever floats your boat!
5 & 6 sound good to me! The immunity definitely makes sense

No problem with attending both schools! And radio does not exist, no

I like your idea about the energy! It makes sense to me; the initial lustrya transfer wouldn't be able to animate/power/whatever him forever, anyway, because son dude was dying.

Once you add the points/edits to sheet, feel free to move it over to CS tab!

(@shylarah LMK if I missed anything)

@ayzrules

@Stern Algorithm@ayzrules my last question is how open he is aobut his origins, but other than that everything's good for me~

Also Alyssana teaches at Polytech, so it's entirely possible Arsenio has her for a class.

@shylarah

I think that with people that he knows he's going to be working together with, initially he'll try to act as human as possible and see how long it takes his associates to catch on, but it's all in jest, similar to how Jackie Chan pretended he can't speak English at the beginning of 'Rush Hour".

Also, who's Alyssana?

I'll make the edits and post Arsenio in the Character Tab.

[ayzrules]

@Stern Algorithm awesome! and Alys is Shy's character that she's working on, who is going to be a prof at the Polytechnique Institute :)

[ayzrules]

just general fyi that my first character, rowena, is completed in case any of yall need an example! <3

Lady Rowena Henrietta Imperia-Airwright

🎀𝓝𝓪𝓶𝓮
――――――――――

Rowena Henrietta Imperia-Airwright, though that's Lady Rowena Henrietta Imperia-Airwright to you, thank you very much

🎀𝓣𝓲𝓽𝓵𝓮
――――――――――

Lady; she’s the niece of the Minister of the Merchant Guild, for heavens’ sake. Of course she’s a lady.

🎀𝓐𝓰𝓮
――――――――――

29

🎀𝓖𝓮𝓷𝓭𝓮𝓻
――――――――――

Female

🎀𝓐𝓹𝓹𝓮𝓪𝓻𝓪𝓷𝓬𝓮
――――――――――

With her rosebud lips and inky black locks, Rowena is nothing if not classically beautiful. Her hair falls all the way down to her very fashionable waist, and she has a slender figure that does well with narrower silhouettes (but less so the cage crinoline-in her opinion, at least). Her porcelain-pale complexion is a result of years and years of hats and parasols to keep the sun off her face, and her eyes are a deep chocolate brown color, framed with a set of eyelashes that she makes longer using cosmetics. Rowena has a heart-shaped face and long, thin fingers are more often than not covered with a pair of very expensive gloves.

Rowena wears a lot of pinks, reds, and whites, and she is quite fond of floral patterns and silk rosettes and the like. She adores fans (bladed ones, especially) and parasols (with plenty of lace to hide pockets filled with useful things, of course), and always carries around a reticule (for handkerchiefs, red lace doilies, lemon juice, and perfume). Rowena likes to wear lip tints and rogues that are a tad too dark and red to not be scandalous, and her necklines are daringly low-cut. In terms of gowns, Rowena favors simple but elegant dresses that show off her impeccable taste and her family’s wealth in a refined, understated manner.

Most people who see Rowena describe her as alluring and elegant (if a bit dainty and delicate-looking); some go as far as to call her “doll-like”. She moves with a fluid and practiced grace, every step, every movement measured and precise. Her features are usually carefully arranged in an expression of polite interest, and pleasant smiles fall easily across her painted lips-though those who are keener observers will notice that they rarely ever reach her eyes, which remain as sharp as ever, even when she laughs.

🎀𝓢𝓬𝓱𝓸𝓸𝓵
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Madame Geraldine's Finishing School for Young Ladies of Quality

🎀𝓖𝓾𝓲𝓵𝓭
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Scholar (Scholarly Society)

🎀𝓖𝓲𝓯𝓽s
――――――――――

Rowena is gifted with enhanced mental abilities, including the ability to remember nearly everything she reads and hears. She is also capable of basic telepathy; when she was young, her telepathy was so overwhelming that it drowned out the entire world around her, but after Rowena learned how to control it-how to turn it “on” and “off”-her life became a lot easier. It’s easiest for her to “hear” what somebody is currently thinking, as opposed to going through their memories themselves, which requires a hell of a lot more concentration (and ideally, the two would be alone in a room together, otherwise the thoughts of everybody else around them would crowd into Rowena’s mind and make it hard to focus). Rowena’s telepathy extends to a range of about twenty feet in all directions.

Although she is not currently able to mentally communicate with others (and have them “think” back at her), this is a skill that Rowena very much wants to perfect, as it would make future operations a lot easier. She has been practicing, but it’s really not as easy as it sounds.

🎀𝓞𝓬𝓬𝓾𝓹𝓪𝓽𝓲𝓸𝓷
――――――――――

Rowena is not officially employed; as the soon-to-be-wife of a wealthy air-merchant, she is not expected to do much besides run the household and host extravagant parties. In reality, though, Rowena is second only to her uncle in the large criminal empire that he runs-she is more powerful than most everyone in all matters concerning her family’s “business”. Aside from that, Rowena has a penchant for stealing secrets and jewelry, if being a liar and a thief can be called a "job", and nowadays she also has her position as Captain Kingsford's second-in-command to deal with.

🎀𝓟𝓮𝓻𝓼𝓸𝓷𝓪𝓵𝓲𝓽𝔂
――――――――――

Rowena has always been a people person. There is something about her that seems to draw others to her-whether it's her carefree laugh, her twinkling eyes, or her bright smiles, no one can say. She can be a sultry, intoxicating temptress, capable of charming the secrets right out of others with a coy glance and a flutter of her long eyelashes, or an innocent, demure young lady who has absolutely nothing to hide but plenty of gossip to share. She thinks with her heart when she needs to, but uses her brain at the same time.

Behind brown eyes sparkling with mirth and delicate lips curved up in a half-flirtatious, half-demure smile is a woman made of steel who is keenly aware of her surroundings. Rowena processes vast amounts of information all at once, taking in people's actions, words, and emotions at the same time and forming a conclusion based on what she sees and what she knows. She's always been especially good at reading people like an open book. Sharply observant, perceptive, and brutally analytical, Rowena is able to detect even the most subtle shifts of emotion, assess entire situations with one inconspicuous sweep of her wide brown eyes, and kill a man in a dozen different ways while dancing the waltz. Rowena is constantly listening, though she’ll rarely tell the world what she's thinking.

Enigmatically charismatic and exuding an air of elegant refinement, Rowena puts up a playful and coquettish front all while maintaining a certain air of mystery that makes her that much more attractive. Depending on the people around her, Rowena is either a charming, polite young lady of considerable wealth and status or a deadly and alluring seductress of equally considerable wealth and status. Rowena is not “smart” in the traditional sense of the word-complicated mathematics and the latest development in air-travel technology all go straight over her head, though she is able to hold her own in conversations about a wide variety of “sophisticated” topics. When around “polite” society, Rowena hides her true nature behind expensive gowns and delicate lace, pretending that she is an innocent little girl with easily offended morals. She has mastered the right combination of sugary sweetness and sharp wit to detract attention from her real intentions as she shrewdly advances her own agenda.

Rowena is ferociously loyal to her family. Rowena believes that family is everything, and she is fiercely protective of people that she considers part of her family. She is scarily manipulative, and she isn’t afraid of resorting to less savory methods to achieve her goals. Rowena is calm and collected in times of crisis, and she rarely allows herself to panic. She is truly afraid of very, very few people, and she holds no qualms against playing others like a violin to get what she wants, all while smiling prettily and sipping tea from a dainty porcelain tea cup. Sly, shrewd, and cunning, Rowena is an ice queen dressed in ruffles and lace.

If one is able to see past the many, many layers and intricacies of Rowena Imperia-Airwright, one would come face-to-face with an intensely driven yet extremely insecure woman who has been bottling up her emotions for much too long. Rowena may be willing to sacrifice everything for her family, but she doesn’t know what it is that she truly wants. Rowena does not know who she actually is, and it makes her wonder-is there anything to her besides the mask that she wears in front of others?

🎀𝓦𝓱𝔂 𝔀𝓸𝓾𝓵𝓭 𝓒𝓪𝓹𝓽𝓪𝓲𝓷 𝓚𝓲𝓷𝓰𝓼𝓯𝓸𝓻𝓭 𝓬𝓸𝓷𝓽𝓪𝓬𝓽 𝓽𝓱𝓮𝓶?
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Besides being Captain Kingsford's best friend from finishing school, Rowena and Captain Kingsford are pretty much complete opposites. Adrianna Kingsford is the strong, silent type who would rather go into a conflict head-on with all the subtlety of a charging bull, while Rowena prefers her pretty words and prettier bladed fans, paired with insults and threats disguised as compliments. But for some reason, the two work wonderfully together...or they do, when Adrianna isn't accusing Rowena of being a liar and a thief while Rowena plays coy with her.

Nevertheless, Rowena has the entirety of her uncle's criminal empire at her back, as well as all the power and influence that comes with being the niece of the Pirate Minister, so she is most definitely someone you would like by your side. She is also capable of lying, seducing, and manipulating her way out of any situation, and her telepathy is very useful when it comes to trying to find out information that others don't want her to find out.

🎀𝓟𝓻𝓮𝓯𝓮𝓻𝓻𝓮𝓭 𝓦𝓮𝓪𝓹𝓸𝓷
――――――――――

Rowena's first-choice weapon will always be words, but after that, she's fond of all kinds of knives and daggers (mostly bladed fans and tiny little daggers with ornate hilts that can be disguised as hairpins). Rowena also has a soft spot for garrottes disguised as dance cards, and who could ever say no to a bit of blackmail or poison?

🎀𝓟𝓻𝓮𝓯𝓮𝓻𝓻𝓮𝓭 𝓜𝓮𝓽𝓱𝓸𝓭 𝓸𝓯 𝓒𝓸𝓷𝓯𝓻𝓸𝓷𝓽𝓪𝓽𝓲𝓸𝓷
――――――――――

None at all, or one so heavily veiled that only someone as conniving as Rowena herself would pick it up. Also fond of insulting and flattering someone in the same breath.

Rowena very rarely will confront someone directly, and she is not one for drawn-out physical altercations either (they're so horribly uncouth).

🎀𝓕𝓪𝓿𝓸𝓻𝓲𝓽𝓮 𝓒𝓵𝓪𝓼𝓼(𝓮𝓼) 𝓪𝓽 𝓢𝓬𝓱𝓸𝓸𝓵
――――――――――

Bladed Fan Dueling and Parasol Pummeling, Applying Etiquette to Espionage, Stealing Secrets for the Advanced Scholar, Strategic Seduction, Discreet Deceit for a Young Lady of Quality

🎀𝓑𝓲𝓸𝓰𝓻𝓪𝓹𝓱𝔂
――――――――――

Revenge.

That is all Rowena’s life has ever been.

Revenge, and power, and justice. Justice, in the most convoluted sense of the word.

The ruthless criminal empire that Rowena’s uncle runs is far from just. But that is perhaps what they believe in the most: bringing those who wronged them to justice.

The oh-so-mysterious Council thinks that they are completely in charge of Hourglass City. They think that they are the ultimate authority. Rowena knows better.

Yes, the power of the five Councillors-one for each Guild-is great. That, Rowena has to admit. But Rowena knows better, because she knows their deepest, darkest secrets. Rowena's spent her entire adult life stealing people's secrets.

It’s not easy, of course. It’s something that Rowena perfected at finishing school, and a skill that came rather slowly, after she mastered the basics. Even now, she wouldn’t say she’s good at it-only that she is capable, if needed.

Of course, there are very few people in the world who know what Rowena can do. And most people never know what hits them, when Rowena shows up to blackmail them with some incriminating piece of information or another. They never know what hit them-Rowena attends balls with her ridiculously flamboyant and outrageously fashionable friend, a certain Alexander Amidale, and while their hosts are busy drinking sherry and champagne and dancing and playing cards and smoking cigars, Rowena steals their secrets. It's not terribly hard, really: all it requires is some coy flirting and coquettish glances and some time…alone. It certainly isn’t as hard as the waiting Rowena has endured.

Because her enemies may have forgotten, but Rowena has not: she will never forget how her father had taken a great interest in manufacturing automatons animated by "Myalo", by black magic, in order to bolster his thriving underground empire. How two other prominent air-merchant families infiltrated her father's facilities, stole the instructions on how to create the automatons, and burned down the factories and warehouses and airships that the Imperia-Airwrights owned. How they got the Council on their side, too, and had Rowena's parents arrested then executed, her aunt and uncle stripped of all their property-as a way of ensuring they weren’t hiding any of her father’s creations, they said.

Bullshit.

Malcolm Imperia-Airwright and Eliza Imperial-Airwright might have been destitute and penniless after the other air-merchants became the new unofficial rulers of the marketplace in the sky, otherwise known as the district of New Toppingham, but that didn't mean that they weren't without friends or allies. They bided their time patiently, watching from the sidelines as the other families themselves were ruined by rival air-merchant families. They quietly amassed a ridiculous amount of wealth once more, resorting to extremely illegal methods (as opposed to only moderately illegal methods) and quite a bit of blackmail, and while they were at it, they told little Rowena about the glory of the old days-of the fantastical steam contraptions and the expensive ball gowns embellished with threads of gold as thin as a strand of hair and the magnificent airships that soared across the skies to foreign lands and the exquisitely polished mahogany furniture that filled their former homes, now all in the clutches of the enemy. They took everything, Malcolm and Eliza said, and they would pay. They would pay.

The Imperia-Airwrights were old money with plenty of connections, and old money with connections never took long to become rich again. By the time Rowena was fifteen, they were reasonably well-off, and by the time she was twenty-five, they were outrageously rich-as they were before the unfortunate events involving those blasted automatons. Eliza, who was a member of the Scholar Guild like Rowena would later become (and unlike Malcom, who was a member of the Merchant Guild and capable of communicating with machines), taught Rowena everything she could before her sudden death. Rowena was only fourteen, but even then she could recognize a poisoning from a mile away.

Ah, yes-vengeance, sweet, sweet vengeance, as heady and as cloying as fine wine. Rowena had her first taste of that sort of heady wine-vengeance when she tracked down and brutally stabbed the man responsible for her aunt's murder to death; the first thing she did after graduating from Madame Geraldine’s, in fact.

Rowena tasted this sort of vengeance once more some time after her uncle had re-taken the metaphorical throne. Malcolm Imperia-Airwright was the king of the air-merchants and smugglers alike when Rowena graduated. Her debut was a grand thing to behold, and the coming out ball left her with the attention of Henry Lewis, the son of the man who had orchestrated her parents’ downfall. During the subsequent months, Henry was given Rowena’s hand-in-marriage, and the wedding date was set.

They never made it to the altar. Rowena killed him three weeks before the wedding, and she killed the next two as well. The first was with a poisonous kiss as he sloppily smashed his lips against hers, as he was wont to do; the second with a bit of foxglove in every meal they took together; the third with an airship malfunction.

The fourth, and the last, is a man named Robert Sullivan, a man three times her age who had taken part in ruining her father. And after that, Rowena supposes, she’ll marry for the good of her uncle’s underground empire.

The tables had been turned, the first time she killed one of her fiancées, and Rowena relished in their deaths. Oh, how wonderfully powerful it made her feel!

And so Rowena steals thoughts and she steals secrets, and sometimes less valuable trinkets such as priceless jewelry and prototypes of world-altering inventions. There are still plenty of people who would see the Imperia-Airwrights gone for good, and there are still plenty of people out there who contributed to the deaths of her father and mother in some way, shape, or form, and Rowena is going to find them all, steal everything they've got, then kill them-slowly, slowly. Starting with the honorable Lord Sullivan.

But that can wait until after Rowena helps Captain Kingsford find out what the hell is going on. When her old friend called on her for the first time in years, Rowena was wary-the few times that they saw each other after graduation, it was unfailingly tense and awkward, and it usually ended with Adrianna accusing her of being a thief and a liar (which was quite true, actually, but did Adrianna really need to bring it up every single time?). This time was different, though. Adrianna practically begged Rowena to be her second-in-command, and she promised that she personally would stay out of Rowena's business after the whole thing was over (though she couldn't control the actions of her fellow Legionnaires, of course) and Rowena thought, well, when you put it that way...

🎀𝓞𝓽𝓱𝓮𝓻
――――――――――

🎀𝓛𝓲𝓴𝓮𝓼: elegant, expensive gowns that show off Rowena’s impeccable taste as well as how wealthy her family is in a refined, understated manner, accessories that are both beautiful and deadly (bladed fans, armored/bladed parasols, dagger-like hairpins and hatpins, pointy boots, and the like), scandalously dark lip tints, expensive alcoholic beverages (Rowena is particularly fond of champagne and sherry), her family and those loyal to her family, cherries, toying with and manipulating others (especially men), vengeance against those who have wronged the Imperia-Airwrights in the past, blades and daggers with ornate hilts and pretty little pistols with gilt metalwork and mother-of-pearl handles, silk, lace, pearls, not being viewed as a threat (or being viewed as a threat, depending on the situation), power, information and the network of informants that her family runs, the smell of cinnamon and cardamom, a good poisoning or a perfectly executed murder or heist, tea with milk added to it, pear turnovers, subtlety, roses, knowing everyone's secrets, Alexander Amidale

🎀𝓓𝓲𝓼𝓵𝓲𝓴𝓮𝓼: sloppiness and messiness, drunkards, incompetence, useless, meaningless violence and destruction, cheap, tasteless beer, when someone/something unnecessarily ruins her hair or gown, people who feel the need to question her motives, people who genuinely believe that women should stay out of business, politics, and science, the smoke and soot that’s practically everywhere in Automahaven, people who can’t for the life of them think something through before they dive head-first into the endeavor, being blunt, crude manners, meat, overly sweet desserts, direct confrontations (Rowena prefers to be as discreet as possible), excessively frilly hats, parasols, and gowns, being completely, totally helpless, law enforcement officials and Legionnaires who serve the Council in general (meaning, most Legionnaires)

🎀𝓢𝓴𝓲𝓵𝓵𝓼: charming the secrets right out of someone without their knowledge, getting people to do exactly what she wants them to do, styling her hair, extremely proficient with knives and blades and a fair shot with a gun (she hates resorting to firearms-too loud. Daggers, on the other hand...), competent with mixing poisons and the actual act of poisoning, pick-pocketing and picking locks, all forms of blackmail and manipulation, remembering names, faces, and small details, flirting, saying exactly what she means to say without saying anything at all, flattering and insulting someone in the same breath, being thoughtful and dismissive at the same time, lithe and graceful in a physical altercation, being perfectly polite and proper while killing a man, limited telepathic abilities that include lie detection and delving into a person's deepest secrets (her gift), near-photographic memory (due to her gift), somehow getting her hands on things that she was never meant to see in the first place, lying through her teeth

🎀𝓦𝓮𝓪𝓴𝓷𝓮𝓼𝓼𝓮𝓼: Rowena possesses a blind, sometimes stupid loyalty to her family and their trusted associates, she has a lack of brute physical strength (it's not proper for young ladies of quality to be strong like that!), an inability to trust others outside her family, her rather cynical view of the world, her tendency to be very judgmental of others, the way that she will hold a grudge until the end of time if necessary, her sometimes destructive fixation on revenge, her bitter and cynical view of the world

Aesthetic stuff yay

[shylarah]

*keeps writing frantically*

Have I mentioned that I hate CSes? because I do. -.-

[shylarah]

Lady Alyssana Grey

Name

---

Alyssana Grey (Prefers to be called Professor or some variant thereof. She will answer to Lady Alyssana and similar forms, including Lady Grey though it's not technically correct. Informally she is Alyssana, and some people can get away with calling her Alys.)

Title

---

Lady; Professor

Age

---

28 (born February 2nd, 1974)

Gender

---

female

Appearance

---

While Alys is not unpleasant to look at, she is no great beauty either. Yes, her skin is naturally pale where other ladies must go to efforts to appear so, but her thin lips are likewise lacking in any significant color. Her features are refined, but they are too sharp to be properly pretty. She is lean, but she is solid, where most ladies would prefer to be dainty. She is distinctly short, her growth impeded by various implants and a redirection of the energy that would have served that purpose to other things. Naturally her clothing is not so tight-fitting as to emphasize it, but she is a very active woman and has the musculature to match. While her waist is narrow, so too are her hips. As for her bosom, she does have one but it would hardly earn compliments without considerable assistance from corsets or padding, neither of which she favors. Her eyes are her best feature, a stormy grey with more or less blue depending on the day and the lighting. Her wavy hair is cut just past her shoulders, a light brown closer to sandy or ash than it is to dirty blonde. She generally wears it pulled back from her face, pinned securely into some half-up style. She will put it in a full ponytail or a bun when she needs it more contained, and might do something a bit fancier with it for formal occasions, but she will never wear it down.

Alyssana is clearly a lady of breeding, unless she's taking efforts not to appear so. She carries herself with the expected poise and her posture is perfectly straight. But where other women might mince, Alys strides. Her step is firm, her stance confident. She generally dresses as would be expected of a Victorian lady. Tightly laced boots peek out from underneath a floor length skirt, for it would be scandalous to show a hint of ankle (not that she hasn't, but it's not her preference). She prefers smaller bustles, and while she does wear a corset she sees no need to lace it as tightly as many attempt to do. Her blouses are frequently high-collared and long-sleeved, and she wears very little in the way of jewelry. The lady prefers simple elegance to ornate frippery, and her day-to-day outfits reflect that. Subtle embroidery is, in her opinion, far superior to excessive lace or flashy embellishment. Her favored colors are navy blue and dark grey.

School

---

attended Geraldine's & crashed classes at Polytech; teaches at Polytech

Guild

---

none

Gifts

---

Alyssana was not born in Hourglass City, and technically she does not possess a gift. She is above average in terms of her physical abilities but not beyond standard human capability. She heals well; she is resistant to disease; she has a high pain threshold; yet none of these are so visible as to invite comment. She is exceptionally intelligent but again, has no specific skill that would be counted as a gift. Officially she is recorded as having the machine gift, and she has a lovely pair of wings crafted with help from her brother, but she can make use of them because she has trained to do so. Her level of machine empathy is unremarkable, and requires her to be both familiar with the device and in close proximity to operate it. Furthermore, the mechanism must have the capability for the tasks she wishes performed; her wings circumvent this through sheer familiarity -- she's been using them for over a decade, and can conduct minor repairs on the fly. She can get a general feel for the condition of a device by contact, but knowing something needs tuning or repairs is different from knowing how to do either. For anything other than her wings she requires a full set of tools and intimate understanding of the device (things she rarely possesses); for her wings she can get away with stopgap measures as they are only ever used under her immediate control, and so she can adjust things as needed.

Occupation

---

junior professor at Polytechnique Institute

Personality

---

Alyssana is an intelligent young lady who refuses to conform for conformity's sake. She demands the very best from herself and her colleagues, and anything less is unacceptable. She is a proud woman, and expects respect where she has earned it. Dismissing her because of her age, gender, or any other unfounded assumption is a good way to antagonize her. She likewise does not automatically associate a position of authority with worth. She prefers to judge people on individual merit and this can result in tension between her and people who feel they deserve more respect than she gives. She is not tactless, but generally sees little reason to sugar-coat the truth, and she will speak bluntly. While she is entirely capable of being politely charming if she wishes, she sees it as a form of dishonesty. She is sometimes seen as a killjoy, but this is not entirely accurate. Instead it is a product of a serious nature, a reserved demeanor, and a certain lack of patience for frivolity. Those who do not know her generally see her as impassive and aloof; those who do learn to discern the subtle differences in her expressions. She does not often lose her cool, and may be relied upon for sound decisions even under pressure. Alys has a strong sense of ethics, but in the end she is a pragmatist. Often one must either compromise or accept the consequences, and Alys does not shy from the latter. She is very intense and often judgmental, but well-reasoned arguments are given due consideration.

Where Alyssana appears to lack a normal range of emotions, it is merely her natural composure and inexpressive mien; where she seems to push people away it is more that she is slow to trust, and has difficulty opening up to others. Raised in near isolation for a number of years and needing to grow up rather quickly, Alyssana has a certain disregard for social norms and is used to looking after herself. She is fiercely independent, and while she asks for help when she needs it she is never pleased to do so, which often comes across as arrogance. She has little patience for the complex machinations of society and avoids them where she can, prefering books to balls and students to socialites.

As a teacher, Professor Grey is known to be strict and demanding. She does not tolerate students who do not put forth suitable effort, nor does she take well to horseplay. She requires her pupils to apply themselves to learning what she has to teach them but also to considering the subject matter for themselves, forming conclusions, and defending those conclusions. Reasoned discourse is not only permitted but encouraged. Students with questions are welcomed, and those who might need a little more help are never turned away. Professor Grey is a good judge of when someone is genuinely trying as opposed to when they just want quick answers or don't care about the topic.

Why would Captain Kingsford contact her?

---

Alyssana attended school at the same time as Captain Kingsford, and she is known to be well-connected in academic and scientific circles, and highly knowledgeable about myalo, shades, and automata. Furthermore, in-depth investigation of the underground automata research still conducted may turn up some interesting connections to Alyssana and her brother -- and certainly that group has an interest in her, though they've stayed clear for the most part. Furthermore she is a skilled combatant when the need arises.

Preferred Weapons

---

Alyssana prefers using her knowledge and intelligence as weapons, but when it comes to an actual fight her favorite is by far the sword. She is accurate with rifle and revolver, and deadly with blades of all kinds.

Preferred Methods of Confrontation

---

Alyssana would prefer things not come to fighting, but not everyone is interested in a well-reasoned argument. It is regretable, but often other methods of persuasion are required, and sometimes the problem must be...removed entirely.

Favorite Classes at School

---

theoretical physics, history of Old Ravenmire, comparative magics, calligraphy

Biography

---

Alyssana's early past is a well-kept secret, known to few and rarely discussed. She and her twin brother Christopher were adopted at the age of eleven by the Lord Grey and his lady wife, nobles known for their peculiar fondness for archaeological pursuits and respected (though eccentric) members of the Scholar Guild. The twins were introduced to Hourglass society as unfortunate children deprived of parents and birthright by disaster, in need of guardians better suited to their brilliance than the ones they'd been left with up to that point. As the Greys were lacking any children of their own despite all efforts to be otherwise, and nearing fourty, taking the two in was as much a matter of expedience as charity.

This was true...to a point. The details were rather more complicated. Though told they were orphans by the Gerald Tarrant, the man who raised them, the twins are actually the product of highly questionable experimentation into the capabilities of myalo, magic, and machinery -- and he their father. While they are not properly automatons, their hearts are clockwork and portions of their skeletons and other innner workings have been reinforced with metal, the better to bind the experimental magic to their bodies. Magical treatments started in utero, and continued through childhood, with the physical enhancements carried out through a combination of surgery, healercraft, machine magic, and metalcraft. The experts Gerald associated with were a ring of unethical researchers and craftsfolk working with shades, myalo, and automata, among other things. Gerald himself apprenticed under Lucius' parents, and retained a great deal of their research. His focus was more on engineering desired traits into the resulting child -- it is unclear whether Alyssana and Christopher are the "original" personalities, entirely different ones, or some combination thereof. He also had a vested interest in finding methods to control shades and myalo automata.

Though the pair were raised in ignorance of their origins, in an isolated location and with limited outside contact, Gerald always intended them to carry on his work: Christopher as the man who would dedicate his life to furthering that research, and Alyssana as Christopher's guard and caretaker. When Alyssana found out, she drew her own conclusions. Faced with the prospect of having her own life forcibly tied to another and her will subjugated, she rebelled. She and her brother fled, though Alyssana let herself be captured to ensure Christopher's escape. Luckily for him the Greys and their team were working at a dig site not so far away, and the boy was sighted from aloft. It was some time before the well-intentioned team extracted the details of his past and his sister's plight, and set about recovering her.

Gerald realized he was outmatched and relinquished the twins to the guardianship of the Greys, who formally adopted them. Privately, he intended to continue his research -- if at first you don't succeed, try, try again. He is now deceased. Alyssana did not kill him, although she did make the attempt. At thirteen she wasn't strong enough, but he poisoned himself rather than have her become a murderer, knowing she would not have let the matter rest. His last words to her were to say he was proud of her. She's never forgiven him.

Alyssana's relationship with her new family was uneasy at first, but eventually settled into more of a mentor/student dynamic than parent/child. For years she'd looked after her brother as the sensible sibling in contrast to his lack of foresight and absentmindedness. She resented dedicated attempts at getting her to open up, and found it difficult to adapt to the social forms now required of her. To this day she is far closer to her tutors and members of the household than Lord and Lady Grey, though she views them both with tolerant affection. They wanted children so very much, but neither she nor her brother is quite the right fit, and neither of them were looking for parents.

Academically she is brilliant, though not to the purely genius level of her brother. After a few years of private tutors in various subjects (as well as informal teachers she went about acquiring for herself, with or without permission), she was sent to Mme Geraldine's for a proper education, and to hone her social skills. It worked, more or less, though the fit was as awkward as that with the Greys. At sixteen Christopher was sent to the Polytechnique Institute, affording Alyssana an excuse to crash classes, which she did openly and without shame. Many times she was packed back to Geraldine's, but there were some teachers that didn't mind -- and some that she won over after quietly helping other students in the class. She's spent a number of months both in high school and college studying abroad, or accompanying the Greys' team on-site. She developed an interest in history and archaeology along with the various sciences, and she divides her time between research, field study, and teaching.

Three years ago she obtained an assistant teaching position at the Polytechnique Institute at the suggestion of one of her mentors there. The headmaster there isn't entirely thrilled, but there's no question she knows her material and comes well-qualified. She specializes in magic anthropology, with a dual focus on the Wasteland Cities and Ancient Altiris.

@Stern Algorithm If you wanna figure out if and how your char and mine know each other, I'm game~

[ayzrules]

second character finished wooo

Vincent Lionel Halverson

⏳𝓝𝓪𝓶𝓮
――――――――――

Vincent Lionel Halverson

⏳𝓣𝓲𝓽𝓵𝓮
――――――――――

Doctor

⏳𝓐𝓰𝓮
――――――――――

32

⏳𝓖𝓮𝓷𝓭𝓮𝓻
――――――――――

Male

⏳𝓐𝓹𝓹𝓮𝓪𝓻𝓪𝓷𝓬𝓮
――――――――――

Vincent is definitely not a very intimidating man, standing no taller than average and possessing a rather slim build. At a first glance, everything about him seems, well, average; he dresses in a somber, understated manner (though he places great importance on proper attire, of course), and loves a good waistcoat. His hair is always neatly styled in the most unassuming way, with not one strand out of place, and is a dark, inky black. His eyes are a warm brown color, and they reveal very little of what he is thinking or feeling. His long, thin hands are on the smaller side, and his complexion is fairly average-not overly pale, but not overly tan, either. In short, everything about Vincent’s outer appearance, from his clean-shaven face to the simple, demure clothing that he favors, is utterly forgettable.

However, those who are keener observers may notice that his clothing is just solemn enough to be less than perfectly fashionable, his hair is cut just plainly enough so that it does not attract attention by being in an old-fashioned style, and his stance and demeanor are just unassuming enough to be passed over in favor for his bigger and bolder peers. Indeed, Vincent has purposefully cultivated an image of being completely, perfectly forgettable. Most people do not notice him, because he does not want them to.

Beneath his earth-toned jackets and slight figure, Vincent boasts a bit of lean, lanky muscle on his arms and legs. His angular features are rather contemplative, if one watches carefully, and some people may be able to deduce that he is constantly thinking, constantly considering his every move. His skin is, for the most part, smooth and unblemished, though there is a burn scar down the side of his leg from a lab explosion five years ago.

⏳𝓢𝓬𝓱𝓸𝓸𝓵
――――――――――

The Polytechnique Institute of Arts and Sciences

⏳𝓖𝓾𝓲𝓵𝓭
――――――――――

Apothecary

⏳𝓖𝓲𝓯𝓽
――――――――――

Vincent is a Mera-healer; he can heal wounds, cuts, abrasions, bruises, et cetera with sparks that come flying out of his fingertips.

⏳𝓞𝓬𝓬𝓾𝓹𝓪𝓽𝓲𝓸𝓷
――――――――――

A physician in the employ of the Imperia-Airwrights; it pays better than the places in Cindergate, and he has to provide for his parents.

⏳𝓟𝓮𝓻𝓼𝓸𝓷𝓪𝓵𝓲𝓽𝔂
――――――――――

Vincent is an exceedingly mild-mannered man. He is quiet and reserved and shows very little emotion, no matter if he approves or disapproves of something. Calm and collected, even in times of crisis, Vincent is as steadfast and as unmoving as a rock. Dependable and practical, Vincent always makes sure that whatever has to be done is done-in fact, he makes sure that it is done well. He carries all his tasks through with the utmost efficiency, and he values organized inventories and work spaces over everything else. With his quick, analytical mind Vincent is very often two or three steps ahead of everyone else. He prefers to examine all sides of an issue and take every variable into account before passing judgement, and he has a knack for coming up with elegant solutions that all parties involved can agree upon.

Vincent tends to keep his thoughts to himself, and he prefers to sit back and observe than get involved in the fray. He always feels slightly uncomfortable in large crowds of people, though he is not easily intimidated (something that others usually miss, considering his outward appearance). Vincent carries out orders very well, and he is quick about it, too.

Vincent is very practical and prefers simplicity over extravagance in all matters, from attire to home decor and food-though décor must be tastefully done, and food must not be inedible, thank you very much. Calm, polite, and solicitous, very few people in this world have reason to dislike him. He is quiet and serene, and seems to calm people down just by being near them. He doesn't like asking others for favors or assistance-he feels uncomfortable because he thinks he is bothering them-and keeps most of his own problems to himself.

Polite and respectful, it is all too easy to mistake Vincent’s deference for submissiveness. Vincent doesn’t mind-it makes him seem perfectly harmless and not threatening in the least, which he does intentionally. He knows full well that if someone were to unearth some of the things he’s done in the past, he would be in deep trouble indeed-because behind the polite expression on his face and utterly inoffensive appearance, Vincent can be just as cunning and manipulative as the worst of them.

⏳𝓦𝓱𝔂 𝔀𝓸𝓾𝓵𝓭 𝓒𝓪𝓹𝓽𝓪𝓲𝓷 𝓚𝓲𝓷𝓰𝓼𝓯𝓸𝓻𝓭 𝓬𝓸𝓷𝓽𝓪𝓬𝓽 𝓽𝓱𝓮𝓶?
――――――――――

Vincent’s got a solid understanding of the procedure required to create an automaton-or what his teachers could teach him, anyway. He’s also worked for men interested in reviving automatons, so he has practical experience in that…field. Besides, it’s always nice to have a doctor on hand, and even better when he works for your “second-in-command”. As an added bonus, Vincent went to the Institute, meaning that none of this is particularly unusual to him, relatively speaking.

In short, Captain Kingsford contacted him because he was convenient. And Vincent knows that whether he says yes or no doesn’t really matter, because the Imperia-Airwrights would probably call on him to patch up anybody wounded during the investigation anyway, seeing as Rowena is involved. So Vincent agreed to help, lured by the Legionnaire captain’s promise of a “generous compensation”.

⏳𝓟𝓻𝓮𝓯𝓮𝓻𝓻𝓮𝓭 𝓦𝓮𝓪𝓹𝓸𝓷
――――――――――

Vincent is not much of a fighter, and he prefers to use words in the place of weapons. However, if worst comes to worst, Vincent favors poison or the little butterfly knife he has tucked into a pocket sewn on the inside of his jackets at all times.

⏳𝓟𝓻𝓮𝓯𝓮𝓻𝓻𝓮𝓭 𝓜𝓮𝓽𝓱𝓸𝓭 𝓸𝓯 𝓒𝓸𝓷𝓯𝓻𝓸𝓷𝓽𝓪𝓽𝓲𝓸𝓷
――――――――――

With calm words, comfortable chairs, and a good pot of tea. Unfortunately for him, things don’t always work out this way.

⏳𝓕𝓪𝓿𝓸𝓻𝓲𝓽𝓮 𝓒𝓵𝓪𝓼𝓼(𝓮𝓼) 𝓪𝓽 𝓢𝓬𝓱𝓸𝓸𝓵
――――――――――

Waistcoats and Weaponry, Deadly Plants and Deadlier Poisons, some of more advanced biology, anatomy, and physiology courses

⏳𝓑𝓲𝓸𝓰𝓻𝓪𝓹𝓱𝔂
――――――――――

The Halversons have always been loyal.

Vincent’s grandfather was a butler in the Golding-Brassmott household. He came with Lady Eliza Imperia-Airwright, formerly Lady Eliza Golding-Brassmott, to Hourglass City from the Triarchy city of Slateton City. She was betrothed to Malcolm Imperia-Airwright, and their marriage was a way to seal a trade alliance.

Vincent’s grandfather left his entire family behind to serve as Eliza’s butler, because he was loyal. This loyalty would drive Vincent’s grandmother insane, and when she died of both heartache and old age, his son-Vincent’s father-went to Hourglass City to find him.

Find him he did, and Vincent’s father stayed with his grandfather until the butler died, and Vincent’s father, with nowhere else to go, became an accountant in the employ of the Imperia-Airwrights. He was there, through the darkest of times for the family, and he married a Craftswoman and had four children with her. Vincent was the youngest.

By the time Vincent was fourteen, the Imperia-Airwrights had recovered from their plight, for the most part. To reward Vincent’s father for his loyalty, Malcolm offered to send their youngest son to the Polytechnique Institute, free of charge. With university bills for his three older children piling up, Vincent’s parents were happy to accept the offer.

At the Institute, Vincent was nothing exceptional in terms of evil genius-ness, although his instructors noted that he had a quick mind and a knack for biology and medicine. Considering the fact that he was gifted with the power to heal, it was a perfect fit (though some of his teachers noted that it was a shame Vincent was not inclined to be particularly evil at all, because he would have made a wonderful mad scientist-slash-surgeon, apparently).

Shortly before Vincent graduated, his oldest brother was killed while he was out on an operation for the Imperia-Airwrights. Not long after that, his second-oldest brother and his father were both injured when an airship crash-landed in the middle of New Toppingham, with his brother dying a week later and his father paralyzed from waist-down. His older sister quit her job to take care of their parents, leaving Vincent to do his best to earn enough money to provide for both his parents and himself.

After graduating from the Institute, Vincent studied for a number of years in order to become a licensed, practicing healer. He joined the Apothecary Guild, and began looking for a job. He found an entry-level job at the Cindergate Hospital, and although the pay was meager, Vincent was just glad to have a source of income.

A few months later, it was becoming clear that Vincent would not be able to support an entire household on his salary, so he began searching for other job opportunities, tapping into his connections from his time at the Institute. He eventually found a position as a researcher under one Lord Archibald Sullivan, who had decided that he wanted to create an automaton for himself. Vincent was skeptical, at first, but the money that Archibald was offering eventually won him over.

Lord Archibald Sullivan was the son of Lord Robert Sullivan, a notorious air-merchant who had a long-standing feud with the Imperia-Airwrights, though Vincent had not known it at the time. He worked under Archibald for five years-five long, torturous years-and in the process, he realized that it simply was not the life for him.

During his time with Archibald Sullivan, Vincent fell himself falling slowly, but deeply, in love with Stephen Trevant, a mercenary under the Sullivans' employ. He hid it until he could hide it no more, and the two began seeing each other, concealing the fact from everybody else.

It was also during his time with Archibald Sullivan that Vincent saw why Myalo had been labeled "black magic" by the rest of society. The darkness in the very nature of the magic began corrupting Archibald, turning a man already inclined to evil even more, well, evil. Archibald's already-mean temper became decidedly meaner, and on more than one occasion, Vincent was left in so much pain that he couldn't even summon up the energy to heal himself. Still, he stayed, if only because of Stephen, if only because he needed the money.

But when Stephen found out, inevitably, and confronted Archibald about it-when Stephen tried (and failed) to kill Archibald Sullivan, despite Vincent's protests and warnings; when he saw Stephen's dead body, his lifeless eyes-Vincent decided to take matters into his own hands. He bided his time, carefully, making sure that considered every option, every possibility.

Vincent knew, rationally, that he himself would not be able to kill Archibald without leaving behind traces of evidence. So instead, he manipulated Archibald into a confrontation with the Imperia-Airwrights, one close enough to Peripoint that the Legionnaires would put a stop to it before anyone was seriously injured. Vincent made sure to slip Archibald's notes about automatons into his jacket pocket before he left, to leave traces of the experiments throughout Archibald's airship-so that the Legionnaires would be able to arrest him for life.

The plan should have gone smoothly. Would have gone smoothly, if Malcolm Imperia-Airwright's third-in-command, Azariah Wynlad (the second being his niece, of course) had not decided, out of the blue, to accompany the men in the airship that Archibald decided to attack. In the ensuing confrontation, both Archibald and Azariah were arrested. Before the Imperia-Airwrights could negotiate his release, Lord Robert Sullivan had Azariah poisoned in his jail cell. Which, of course, led to the Imperia-Airwrights blowing up Archibald's lab, destroying all his notes, then violently gutting Archibald Sullivan himself while he lay defenseless in his cell.

After Archibald was killed, Vincent returned to his family. When the Imperia-Airwrights offered him a position as a physician, Vincent was nervous, initially, but accepted. He knows that there's not really a way to prove what he did, but he's heard plenty of rumors (from his Institute friends, at least) about Lady Rowena Imperia-Airwright's ability to read minds, and that is certainly not a very reassuring thought...

⏳𝓔𝓿𝓲𝓵 𝓖𝓮𝓷𝓲𝓾𝓼 𝓛𝓮𝓿𝓮𝓵 𝓪𝓽 𝓖𝓻𝓪𝓭𝓾𝓪𝓽𝓲𝓸𝓷
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Mildly Rude Genius (he was never that good at being evil, no)

⏳𝓞𝓽𝓱𝓮𝓻
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⏳𝓛𝓲𝓴𝓮𝓼: clean clothes, clean surfaces, cleanliness in general, sharp pencils, tidy rooms, the smell of coffee, organized rooms, being polite to others, biology, botany, being a Healer, going about on his way unnoticed, being underestimated by those outside of his family, being prepared for everything, elegant solutions, daffodils and daisies, subtle earth tones (namely greens and browns and beiges), everything being resolved in a peaceful manner, efficiency, the smell of the sea

⏳𝓓𝓲𝓼𝓵𝓲𝓴𝓮𝓼: facial hair, inappropriately loud people, rumpled clothing, bloodstains, ineffectiveness, disorganized messes, chaos, incompetent people, being unprepared, messiness, drunkards, bar fights, fighting in general, obnoxious displays of force, people that he’s not sure he trusts realizing how capable he truly is, alcohol (he'll take it in moderation, but not enough to get drunk)

⏳𝓢𝓴𝓲𝓵𝓵𝓼: remembering small details, manipulating the situation in his favor, drawing up compromises, a quick learner, quick and nimble in a fight and half-decent with a gun/knife (Vincent draws upon his agile cunning and element of surprise more than his physical strength when he is engaged in any sort of physical altercation), makes a mean roast chicken, a very good listener, reliable and dependent

⏳𝓦𝓮𝓪𝓴𝓷𝓮𝓼𝓼𝓮𝓼: his lack of brute strength puts him at a disadvantage in certain situations, tends to be a bit passive and go-with-the-flow, not very intimidating or assertive (and as such, he would not be a great leader), singing and playing instruments (Vincent is the opposite of "musically inclined")